Advent International Corp., one of the world’s largest private equity firms, will purchase a controlling stake in India’s Suven Pharmaceuticals Ltd. for at least 63.13 billion rupees ($762 million), triggering an open offer to buy further shares in the family-run firm.
The buyout firm agreed to acquire 50.1 percent of Suven from the Jasti family, according to an exchange filing. The stake purchase also set off a mandatory offer to minority shareholders from Advent under which it can buy as much as 66.19 million shares — or another 26 percent stake — for 495 rupees each, the same price it is paying the founders for the majority stake.
“Our vision for Suven is to build a $1 billion global leader, by executing effectively on the product pipeline, building new marquee customers, turbo-charging business development, and scaling up manufacturing and R&D,” said Pankaj Patwari, managing director at Advent, adding the firm will look to acquire other global businesses “to build capabilities and gain new customers access.”
For Advent, which has made more than 50 healthcare investments in 16 countries over the past three decades, the Suven deal adds to its growing portfolio in India, where it has bought majority stakes in the engineering services company Encora and consumer durables firm Eureka Forbes.
Advent will also explore a a potential merger of Suven, based in the Indian pharmaceutical hub of Hyderabad, with its portfolio firm, Cohance Lifesciences, to build out a company specializing in contract development, manufacturing and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Increasingly Busy
The rout in global stocks has kept the head of Advent’s India business, Shweta Jalan, increasingly busy because more deals are being routed into the private-equity space, she told Bloomberg News in May. She has steered clear of India’s red-hot fintech space, where startups are too early stage or too expensive for her firm’s strategy, which leans toward investments in late-stage cash-generating businesses.
Advent’s key investment areas will continue to be healthcare, consumer, financial services and information technology in India, she said at the time.
Suven’s founder Venkateswarlu Jasti will be party to the deal announced, but won’t be selling the 2,000 shares held by him. Jasti will resign from the company’s board and as its managing director on completion of the deal, though he may provide some consultancy services as a chief adviser.
